Corrie Ten Boom's Risky Business

Church History Timeline

What would you do if your friends were being
killed because of their faith in God or the color of their skin? Would
you take a stand to help them? What if you didn't even know the people
being killed? Would you be willing to risk your own life to save theirs?

That is exactly what Corrie ten Boom's family did in Holland in 1943.
Germany had invaded their country as the Nazis took control of most of
Europe. Corrie and her family could have helped the Nazis and been rewarded,
but they didn't. Instead, they took a huge risk to help the Jewish people
and paid dearly for it. Here is Corrie's story based on her own writings,
speeches and interviews.

Not Now, Dear Lord
I had been sick for several days with a bad case of the flu. The high
fever made me sleepy, so I stayed in bed hoping to feel better in the
morning. But I was awakened by screams and the sound of feet rushing toward
my room. At first I thought it was one of the many drills we had practiced
to hide the Jews who now lived with my family. But this time it was not
a drill. German soldiers were raiding our home, looking for the Jewish
people that they had heard we were hiding.

Instantly, I leaped from my bed to help our guests hurry into the secret
space that had been built inside a wall in my room. Once they were inside,
I quickly closed the hidden door to the safe place and slipped back into
bed. I pretended to be fast asleep. As soon as my eyes were closed, the
soldiers rushed into my room; they forced me to get out of bed and get
dressed. They wanted to know where the Jews were. But neither my sister
nor I would tell them. We were slapped and hit by the soldiers. Blood
trickled down our swollen faces, but we were willing to die rather than
tell where they were. The Nazi soldiers punched holes in the walls looking
for the hiding place, but they couldnÃªt find it. My family, including
my 84-year-old father, was handcuffed and forced to march into the dark
night to the police station.

Our Peaceful Life Is Shattered
How different from when I was growing up in Haarlem, Holland. Life was
so peaceful then. I helped out in my father's clock repair shop on the
bottom floor of our home. Our family was well-liked in our neighborhood.
I even taught a Bible class and started several girls' clubs that became
popular in Holland. But the problems we heard about in other parts of
Europe would soon affect our family and all of Holland.

The Nazis Make Life Miserable for Everyone
In Germany, Adolf Hitler and his followers (Nazis) began treating German
Jews badly. They took away their jobs, their homes and most of their rights.
They forced them to go to prisons known as concentration camps. The Nazis
also invaded other countries. They made Jewish people, and others they
did not like, work like slaves in forced labor camps.

Most Dutch people thought our country would never be invaded, but they were
wrong. The same night our president announced that our country was safe,
bombs exploded over our cities. Within five days the country was under
German control.

Life began to change for the Jewish people in Holland first. Every week
there was something new they couldn't do. They lost their jobs, or their
businesses were taken away; they were banned from many public places;
and they were denied food. Jewish men were sent away. Many were never
heard from again. Some Dutch people became unkind to their Jewish neighbors.
The Germans gave them special privileges for telling on Jewish people.
But our family, and many others, knew we had to help those being targeted.
We had a safe room built in the wall of our house. Even though the Nazis
searched hard, they never found it, so they never found the Jews who were
hidden there. They did find enough written material to send us to prison,
though.

A Prison Number Tattooed on My Arm
After that frightful night when our house was invaded, I was put in prison.
We slept in beds filled with fleas, and ate stale bread and thin soup.
We were not called by our names but by the numbers that were given to
us. My number was 66730. It was tattooed on my arm.

One day a guard took me to a doctor to get medicine for the high fever
and cough I had. I was surprised when a nurse asked if there was anything
she could get for me. I asked for a Bible. The nurse returned with copies
of the four Gospels. I would have been in serious trouble if I had been
caught with them, but having a Bible was worth any possible punishment.
I shared the Bibles with the other women and even held Bible studies when
the guards were out of sight.

The night we were taken to jail was the last time our family was ever together.
My father died of pneumonia ten days after being put in prison. My sister,
Betsie, who was with me in prison, encouraged me to keep trusting in God
and reminded me that "there is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper."
Betsie, who forgave her captors, died in prison just three days before
I was scheduled for release. The Lord allowed me to survive despite the
horrible conditions. After ten long months in the forced labor camp, I
was released. Some say I was let out because of an error, but I know God
had a plan for my life.

After getting better, I started a home for people who needed help emotionally
to recover from the war. I later traveled all over the world telling of
God's love and forgiveness. Eventually, I was even able to forgive my
captors for all they had done. The story of my life and the life of my
family has been seen all over the world in a movie called The Hiding
Place.

Make It Real! Questions to make
you dig a little deeper and think a little harder.

In what ways did God provide comfort for Corrie throughout her terrible
ordeal?

Have you ever been made fun of because of your faith in Jesus? What
do you think kids should do if they find themselves in that situation?

Have you ever had to stand up for a friend who was being mistreated?

Have you heard of any places in the world today where people are
being cruelly mistreated?